The Fifth Annual Student Institute for Sustainability Leadership

Are you passionate about the future of the planet? Do you want to be a leader in creating community climate resilience and social justice? If the answer to these questions is “yes,” then SISL is the place for you!

About the Program

The Global Sustainability Resource Center (GSRC) is hosting the fifth annual Student Institute for Sustainability Leadership (SISL – pronounced ‘sizzle’) for incoming first-year and transfer students. SISL provides participants with an overview of the major challenges we face in building community climate resilience and sustainability. It also provides a meaningful introduction to the UCI sustainability community, including student opportunities in research, education, and community engagement. Participants will:

Gain first-hand experience of UCI’s sustainability landscape;

Connect with sustainability youth leaders on campus, including SISL alumni; and

Develop ‘next-steps’ regarding their place as sustainability leaders on campus.

During SISL, participants experience UCI’s sustainability landscape through activities that use the campus as a living laboratory for sustainability, foster leadership skills, and expose students to engaged global citizenship. SISL is a three-day residential experiential learning program on the UCI campus.

The application period has now closed. We look forward to welcoming SISL 2017 to campus on August 25-27, 2017.

Application and Admission

All new undergraduate students at UC Irvine (transfer and first-year) for the 2017-18 academic year are eligible to apply. Criteria for selection include diversity of perspective, activities, and leadership potential.

All admitted students will receive a scholarship valued at $500, which will cover overnight stay in a UC Irvine residential hall, all meals, workshops, and activities. All participants will receive a free t-shirt and tote bag. However, the program does not cover cost of travel to the campus. Upon acceptance into the program, we will ask for a non-refundable $25 fee that will act as both a deposit and which will go towards one of the meals. Please know that this Institute is not a substitute for the Student/Parent Orientation Program (SPOP) – the required orientation for new students. You are required to attend a SPOP session during the summer regardless of your participation in SISL. However, we have scheduled SISL to allow incoming students to attend SPOP before or after the Institute. SISL applicants will be notified of their application status by mid-July.

Twenty-five (25) students are selected to attend SISL. It is our hope that each student participant emerges as an ambassador for sustainability on UCI’s campus. If you plan to live in Campus Resident Housing, you can become a UCI Housing EarthRep. EarthReps is a year-long student training and community building internship for undergraduates offering education, skills, and hands-on experiences broadly related to sustainability. Contact us at sustainability-center@uci.edu with any questions.

ABOUT

UC Irvine’s legacy of sustainability began when shovel first hit dirt at the dedication of the campus by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. Today, UCI continues to go beyond the classroom to put research to work to improve lives, the community, and the world.